Recording medium, apparatus for reproducing data and method thereof

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, the recording medium includes a management area storing management information. The management information includes navigation information for reproducing data from the recording medium, and the navigation information including region information. The region information indicates at least one geographic region in which reproduction of the data is permitted.

FOREIGN PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application claims the benefit of the Korean Patent Application No.10-2006-0034954, filed on Apr. 18, 2006, which is hereby incorporated byreference as if fully set forth herein.

DOMESTIC PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/757,003, filed on Jan. 9, 2006, which is hereby incorporated byreference as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to data reproduction, and moreparticularly, to a recording medium, apparatus for reproducing data andmethod thereof. Although the present invention is suitable for a widescope of applications, it is particularly suitable for preventingunauthorized contents distribution.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Recently, various contents including movies, dramas, music, software andthe like are marketed/distributed as stored in such an optical recordingmedium such as a CD (compact disc), DVD (digital video disc), etc. Forinstance, DVDs having memory capacity enough to store a movie are usefulas a medium for movie sales.

However, contents may be illegally copied or distributed withoutapproval despite that a proprietor's copyright of the content stored inthis recording medium should be protected. In particular, even ifcontents distribution to a specific region or country needs to berestricted, the corresponding content may be distributed rapidly throughvarious paths. Hence, the corresponding proprietor's copyright may notbe protected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a recording medium having a datastructure for managing reproduction of data from the recording medium.

In one embodiment, the recording medium includes a management areastoring management information. The management information includesnavigation information for reproducing data from the recording medium,and the navigation information including region information. The regioninformation indicates at least one geographic region in whichreproduction of the data is permitted.

For example, the navigation information may include at least one commandobject instructing playback of data, and the command object may includethe region information for the data associated with the playbackinstruction.

In one embodiment, each command object prohibits playback of the data ifthe region information in the command object does not match the regioninformation in the reproducing apparatus.

The present invention also relates to a method of reproducing data froma recording medium.

In one embodiment, the method includes reproducing, using a reproducingapparatus, at least one navigation command object from the recordingmedium. The navigation command object includes region information and aninstruction. The instruction instructs to playback data from therecording medium, and the reproduced region information indicates atleast one geographic region in which reproduction of the data ispermitted. The data is reproduced as instructed by the instruction ifthe reproduced region information matches region information stored inthe reproducing apparatus.

In another embodiment of the method, a reproducing apparatus ispermitted to reproduce data from the recording medium if regioninformation stored in the reproducing apparatus matches regioninformation recorded in a command object on the recording medium. Thecommand object indicates data to reproduce from the recording medium.

The present invention further relates to an apparatus for reproducingdata from a recording medium.

In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a pick-up unit configured toreproduce information from the recording medium, and a memory storingregion information indicating a geographic region. A control unit isconfigured to control the pick-up unit to reproduce at least onenavigation command object from the recording medium. The navigationcommand object includes region information and an instruction. Theinstruction instructs to playback data from the recording medium, andthe reproduced region information indicates at least one geographicregion in which reproduction of the data is permitted. The control unitis also configured to control the pick-up unit to reproduce the data asinstructed by the instruction if the reproduced region informationmatches stored region information.

The present invention still further relates to methods and apparatusesfor recording management data in a recording medium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data record/reproduction system accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a file structure for reproduction management ofdata within a recording medium according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a relation between index and objectfiles according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a navigation command according to one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a navigation command according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a navigation command according to a furtherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of device registration information recorded in adata record/reproduction apparatus according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of device registration information including regioninformation according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method of reproducing data according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method of reproducing data according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a data record/reproduction systemaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method of reproducing data according to afurther embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram of device registration information according toanother embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a method of reproducing data according to astill further embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to example embodiments of thepresent invention, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughoutthe drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data record/reproduction system accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a recording medium 10 according to the presentinvention may be an optical recording medium such as a CD (compactdisc), a DVD (digital versatile disc), a BD (Blu-ray disc) and the likeor another recording medium capable of data record/reproduction. In thiscase, reproduction means an operation of reading stored data and alsoincludes the execution of a stored computer program, an output of storeddata, a copy of the stored data and the like.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a file structure for reproduction management ofdata within a recording medium according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 2, in a file structure according to the presentinvention, at least one BDMV directory exists below one root directory.An index file (“index”) and an object file (“MovieObject”) as generalfile (higher file) information to secure interactivity with a user existwithin the BDMV directory. And, the BDMV directory, which hasinformation of data actually recorded within a disc and informationabout a method of reproducing the recorded data, is provided with aplaylist directory PLAYLIST, a clipinfo directory CLIPINF, a streamdirectory STREAM, an auxiliary directory AUXDATA, a BD-J objectdirectory BDJO, a metadata directory META and a backup directory BACKUP.

These directories and files included in each of the directories areexplained in detail as follows.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a relation between index and objectfiles. In the present invention, “Title” used in the followingdescription means generally used contents. In the present system, a userselects a playback by a title unit through an index.

Referring to FIG. 3, each title is linked to a specific object. And, astream associated with the corresponding title recorded within a disc isreproduced according to a command for controlling a reproduction methodbased on a condition such as a viewing rate restriction (parentalcontrol), a playlist control and the like or a program within theobject. For instance, a motion picture is executed by a navigationcommand within the object or a Java application. In particular, forexplanation convenience of the present invention, a title having movingpicture, movie and interactive information to be executed by theMovieObject among titles recorded within a disc shall be named “HDMVTitle”. And, a title having moving picture, movie and interactiveinformation executed by a Java program among titles recorded within adisc shall be named “BD-J Title”.

The metadata directory META includes a metadata file as data about adata. Namely, in the metadata directory META, a search file, a metadatafile for Disc Library and the like exist as the metadata files to usefor efficient search or management of data on the disc.

The BD-J object directory BDJO includes a BD-J Object file forreproducing a BD-J Title.

The auxiliary directory AUXDATA includes auxiliary files containinginformation required for a disc playback. For instance, the AUXDATAdirectory can include a sound file (“Sound.bdmv”) providing click soundin case of an execution of interactive graphic and a font file(“1111.otf”) providing font information in case of a text subtitle.

In the stream directory STREAM, AV stream files recorded within a discin a specific format exist, the streams are recorded as an MPEG-2transport packets in general, and “.m2ts” is used as an extension of astream file (01000.m2ts, 02000.m2ts). In particular, a stream generatedfrom multiplexing audio, video and graphic information together is namedan A/V stream and at least one or more A/V stream files form a title.

The clipinfo directory CLIPINF includes clip information files(01000.clpi, 02000.clpi) having a one-to-one correspondence to thestream files, respectively. In particular, the clip information file(“*.clpi”) includes attribute information and timing information of thecorresponding stream file. In particular, the stream file (“*.m2ts”) andthe clip information file (“*.clpi”) corresponding to the stream file(*.m2ts) by one-to-one are collectively named a “clip”. Namely, a “clip”is the data containing both of the stream file (“*.m2ts”) and the clipinformation file (“*.clpi”).

The playlist directory PLAYLIST includes playlist files (“*00000.mpls”).Playlist means a set of playing intervals for reproducing clips. And,the playing interval is called a PlayItem. Each of the playlist files(“*00000.mpls”) includes at least one PlayItem and SubPlayItem (SPI)designating a playing interval of reproducing a specific clip. ThePlayItem and SubPlayItem (SPI) have information about a reproductionstart time (IN-Time) and reproduction end time (OUT-Time) of a specificclip. So, the playlist can be called a set of PlayItems.

And, the backup directory BACKUP stores a copy of all generalinformation files (e.g., files of index file “index” recordinginformation associated with a disc playback among data of the filestructure, object files such as “MovieObject” and “BD-J Object”, unitkey file); all playlist files (“*.mpls”) within the playlist directoryPLAYLIST; and all clip information files (“*.clpi”) within the clipinfodirectory CLIPINF. Since the loss of the files is fatal to the discplayback, the BACKUP directory stores these files for backup.

The recording medium 10 according to the present invention includes atleast one regional code indicating a region or country enabling aplayback (reproduction) of data stored therein.

The regional code is used in restricting a reproduction of entire dataof the recording medium or a reproduction per title (or contents). Theregional code is recorded in the index file shown in FIG. 2 to restrictthe reproduction of the entire data or is recorded in the object file(MovieObject) shown in FIG. 3 to restrict per title reproduction.

The data record/reproduction apparatus 20 according to the presentinvention is provided with regional information indicating a designatedregion or country. The regional information is recorded as deviceregistration information indicating various parameter values andstatus/conditions of the data record/reproduction apparatus 20.

FIG. 7 shows PSRs (player status registers) of a BD-ROM record player asan example of the device registration information. The regionalinformation, as shown in FIG. 7, can be recorded in a PSR of No. k. And,the regional information, as shown in FIG. 8, represents the designatedregion or country using 8 bits (b0˜b7) in the 32-bit PSR. For instance,if the designated region is the American continent, the regionalinformation can be represented as 0000 0001b. If the designated regionis Africa and Europe, the regional information can be represented as0000 0010b. If the designated region is Asia, the regional informationcan be represented as 0000 0100b. Besides, the regional information canbe defined by being divided into local information and countryinformation.

A field for storing a local date to be compared to regional code limitedtime information (region free date) can be additionally defined in 8bits (b8˜b 15) of the PSR.

The regional code limited time information (region free date) indicatesa time for restricting reproduction of data to a region or country, atime for permitting the reproduction and the like. Also, regional codelimited time information can be further included in the recording medium10 together with regional information.

The regional code limited time information (region free date) isrepresented as a plurality of bits to express a restriction start/enddate or a permission (release) start/end date, and can includerestriction and permission dates differently set according to eachregion or country. The regional code limited time information (regionfree date) can be included in the index table or object file like theregional code.

The data record/reproduction apparatus 20 compares the regionalinformation to the regional code recorded in the recording medium 10 anddecides whether a regional code corresponding to the designated regionor country exists in the recording medium 10.

According to a result of the decision, the data record/reproductionapparatus 20 performs a user-specific operation or displays a warningmessage.

The data record/reproduction apparatus 20 decides whether a restrictionfor a non-permitted region or country is released based on thefixed-date information stored in the recording medium 10. If therestriction is released, the data record/reproduction apparatus 20performs a user-specific operation despite the non-permitted region orcountry.

The data record/reproduction apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 1 is justexemplary and can be modified into various configurations and forms.

The data record/reproduction apparatus 20 includes a pickup unit 201, acontrol unit 202, a code generating unit 203 and a memory 204.

The pickup unit 201 reads the regional code recorded in the recordingmedium 10 and then provides the read regional code to the control unit202. The pickup unit 201 reads data stored in the recording medium 10according to a command of the control unit 202 or records data in therecording medium 10.

The control unit 202 decides whether the data of the recording medium 10is reproducible based on the regional code read by the pickup unit 201.

In case of copying the data of the recording medium 10, the codegenerating unit 203 generates a new regional code for the copied data.In this case, the code generating unit 203 can generate a new regionalcode based on the regional code originally recorded in the recordingmedium 10 and the regional information recorded in the datarecord/reproduction apparatus 20. And, the code generating unit 203 cangenerate/record the new regional code for the entire copied data or eachtitle.

The memory 204 stores the device registration information including theregional information. And, the memory 204 stores the new regional codegenerated by the code generating unit 203 and information for the copieddata having the new regional code inserted therein.

A method of reproducing data in case that a regional code is recorded inan index file of the recording medium 10 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention is explained as follows.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method of reproducing data according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, once a user's command for instructing a playback isinputted, the pickup unit 201 reads at least one regional code recordedin an index table of the recording medium 10 (S41) and then transfersthe read regional code to the control unit 202.

The control unit 202 compares the transferred regional code to regionalinformation stored in the memory 204 to decide whether a regional codein the data record/reproduction apparatus 20 matches the regional codein the recording medium 10 (S42).

If a match exists, the control unit 202 performs the playback orreproduction according to the user's command (S43).

If a match does not exist, the control unit 202 displays a warningmessage instead of reproducing the data of the recording medium 10(S45). In this case, the warning message can include a sentence or iconindicating that the user's command is not executable or a sentence oricon indicating that the regions/countries designated to the recordingmedium and the data record/reproduction apparatus 20 do not match.

Optionally, if the matched regional code does not exist in the recordingmedium 10, the control unit 202 decides whether the informationindicating the fixed-date information for the limited time of anon-permitted region/country exists in the index file of the recordingmedium 10.

If the fixed-date information does not exist in the recording medium 10,the control unit 202 displayed a warning message.

If the fixed-date information exists in the recording medium 10, thecontrol unit decides whether the limited time corresponding to theregion/county designated to the data record/reproduction apparatus 20has expired based on the fixed-date information (S44). Namely, therecording medium 10 includes a data after which reproduction ispermitted regardless of the regional codes in the recording medium 10and the record/reproduction apparatus 20 match. In this case, thecontrol unit 202 can use a separate date/time secured clock or aLocal_date field of PSR 20 to decide whether the corresponding limitedtime included in the fixed-date information read from the recordingmedium 10 has expired.

In the date/time secured clock, a user or application program is unableto change a date or time. Instead, a date or time of the date/timesecured clock can be set/changed based on official time informationcarried by a broadcast or GPS signal. In case of the Local_date field,it is updated using the official time information. Since the user orapplication program is unable to change a date or time of the separatesecured clock, the control unit 204 can correctly decide whether thecorresponding limited time has expired.

If the limited time has expired, the control unit 202 performs theplayback according to the user's command even if a match betweenregional codes in the recording medium 10 and the record/reproductionapparatus 20 does not exist (S43). If the limited time has not expired,the control unit 202 displays a warning message (S45).

A method of reproducing data in case of a regional code recorded in anobject file (MovieObject) of the recording medium 10 according to anembodiment of the present invention is explained as follows.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method of reproducing data according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, if the recording medium 10 is loaded in the datarecord/reproduction apparatus 20 or if a user's command for instructinga playback (reproduction) is inputted, the pickup unit 201 reads anindex to enable a user to select a specific title. Once the specifictitle is selected, the pickup unit 201 reads a navigation commandincluding a regional code within an object file interconnected with thecorresponding title from the recording medium 10 and then transfers itto the control unit 202 (S51).

The object file includes the regional code and the navigation command.The navigation command can include a command for instructing to confirma region/country assigned to the data record/reproduction apparatus 20with reference to the 20^(th) PSR of the data record/reproductionapparatus 20, a command for instructing to display a warning messageinstead of playing back a title if the region/country assigned to thedata record/reproduction apparatus 20 does not match the regional codein the object file, a command for instructing to play a title if amatched region exists, etc.

The control unit 202 compares at least one regional code included in thereceived navigation command to region information stored in the memory204 according to the navigation command, and then decides whether amatch exists (S52).

If a match exists, the control unit 202 plays the title according to thenavigation command (S53).

On the other hand, if a match does not exist, the control unit 202displays a warning message according to the navigation command (S55).

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a navigation command according to one embodimentof the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a value of regional information “PSR(k)” recordedin a record/reproduction apparatus 20 and a value of a regional code arecompared to each other according to a command “A”. If the regionalinformation “PSR(k)” and the regional code are not equal to each other,a warning message is displayed according to a next command “B”.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a warning message to be displayed.

Referring to FIG. 5, if the regional information and the regional codedo not match, a warning title for displaying the warning message isexecuted according to the command “B”. For instance, as the warningmessage, a message indicating “It is not possible to playback thecontents. You need a certification” or “A regional code of a recordingmedium does not match” is displayed.

If the regional information and the regional code do match, the command“B” shown in FIG. 4 is not executed, but a next command “C” is executed.For instance, a Playlist to be played in an object file is reproduced.

Optionally, if a match does not exist in the recording medium 10, thecontrol unit 202 decides whether fixed-date information indicating alimited time of a non-permitted region/country exists in the object file(MovieObject). If the fixed-date information does not exist in theobject file, the control unit 202 displays the warning message.

If the fixed-date information exists, the control unit 202 decideswhether the fixed date provided in the fixed-date information haspassed. The former embodiment is applicable to this decision step.

If it is after the fixed date, the control unit 202 performs a playbackaccording to the navigation command even if the regional code includedin the object file does not match the region/country of the datarecord/reproduction apparatus 20 (S53).

If it is not after the fixed date, the control unit 202 displays awarning message according to the navigation command (S55).

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an object file including regional code limitedtime information (region free date). Information of local_date is readfrom PSR(k) of FIG. 13 according to a command “T” shown in FIG. 6. And,the regional code limited time information (region free date)(2006-04-31) recorded in the recording medium 10 is compared to the readlocal_date information of ‘2006-04-18’. Since the region fixed date hasnot expired yet, reproduction jumps to a title for a warning messagelike the example of FIG. 4.

As another embodiment of the present invention, in case that a BD-Jobject is linked to a title, as shown in FIG. 3, a Java applicationincluded in the BD-J object compares a regional code of thecorresponding title to regional information of the record/reproductionapparatus 20, and then decides whether to reproduce corresponding dataaccording to a result of the comparison. The Java application may alsodecide whether a reproduction limited time expires based on fixed-dateinformation recorded in the BD-J object file, and then decide whether toreproduce the corresponding data according to a result of the decision.

The index file includes a plurality of titles and the object file(MovieObject file), which includes a plurality of objects (MovieObject)as shown in FIG. 3. Since each of the titles within the index file islinked to one of a plurality of the objects, a specific title selectedby a user becomes linked to the corresponding object. And, the linkedobject then selects and plays a Playlist to be played back using acommand set. Since the object has the command set providing the regionalcode for comparison to the regional information of therecord/reproduction apparatus 20, a title author can set a regional codedifferently per title.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a data record/reproduction systemaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention, in whichelements for explaining the technical idea of the present invention isshown and have been omitted for the sake of clarity.

Referring to FIG. 11, a configuration of a recording medium 10 accordingto a second embodiment of the present invention is similar to that ofthe former embodiment of the present invention. And, the datarecord/reproduction apparatus 40 according to the second embodiment ofthe present invention differs from that of the former embodiment of thepresent invention in an operation associated with a server 50 only.

A method of reproducing data according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention is explained as follows.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method of reproducing data according to afurther embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 12, if the recording medium 10 is loaded in the datarecord/reproduction apparatus 40 or if a user's command for instructinga playback is inputted, a pickup unit 401 reads at least one regionalcode included in an index table or object file and then transfers theread regional code to a control unit 402 (S71).

The control unit 402 compares the received regional code to regionalinformation stored in the memory 404, and then decides whether a matchexists (S72).

If a match exists, the control unit 402 performs the playback(reproduction) according to the user's command (S76).

On the other hand, if a match does not exist, the control unit 402decides whether information indicating fixed-date information, forlimiting the time of a non-permitted region/country reproduction, existsin the index table or object file of the recording medium 10 (S73).

If the fixed-date information exists in the recording medium 10, thecontrol unit 402 receives RPC (remote procedure call) data includingdate (year/month/day) and time (hour/minute/second) from the server 50and then stores the received RPC data in the PSR (S74). FIG. 13 shows anexample of the PSR including the RPC data. The PSR, as shown in FIG. 13,includes the RPC data (2006-04-31 06:00:00 AM) and a region code.

The control unit 402 decides whether the fixed date has passed withreference to the date/time information included in the RPC data (S75).The control unit 402 can use a secured clock within the datarecord/reproduction apparatus 40 instead of using the RPC data. And, auser or application program is unable to change a date or time of thesecured clock.

If the fixed date has passed, the control unit 402 performs the datareproduction even if the regional code included in the index table orthe object file does not match to the region/country of the datarecord/reproduction apparatus 40 (S76).

If the fixed date has not passed, the control unit 402 displays awarning message (S80). If the fixed date has not passed, the controlunit 402 transfers one of an ID and serial number of the recordingmedium 10 and an ID and serial number of the record/reproductionapparatus 40 to the server 50. And, the control unit 402 is able to makea request of the server 50 for authority to use the recording medium 10or authority to change the regional code or fixed-date information ofthe recording medium (S77).

If the control unit 402 makes a request for the use authority or theinformation change authority, the server 50 transfers a messageproposing a license purchase of data or information for billing of thelicense to the control unit 402 prior to granting the use authority orthe information change authority. If a user of the record/reproductionapparatus 40 purchases the license with payment (S78), the server 50grants the use authority or the information change authority to theuser.

The control unit 402 decides whether the authority is granted to theuser (S79). If the authority is granted to the user, the control unit402 can reproduce the data of the recording medium 10 (S76). Forinstance, the corresponding data can be reproduced in a manner that theuser or the control unit 402 deletes/changes the date/time informationincluded in the fixed-date information or receives the regionalinformation matching the regional code recorded in the recording medium10. If the authority is not granted, the control unit 402 displays awarning message (S80).

In step S73, if the fixed-date information does not exist in the indextable or the object file of the recording medium, the control unit 402can make a request for authority to use the recording medium 10 orauthority to change the regional code or fixed-date information of therecording medium to the server 50 (S77).

If the control unit 402 makes a request for the use authority or theinformation change authority, the server 50 transfers a messageproposing a license purchase of data or information for billing of thelicense to the control unit 402 prior to granting the use authority orthe information change authority. If a user of the record/reproductionapparatus 20 purchases the license with payment (S78), the server 50grants the use authority or the information change authority to theuser.

The control unit 402 decides whether the authority is granted to theuser (S79). If the authority is granted to the user, the control unit402 reproduces the data of the recording medium 10 (S76). If theauthority is not granted, the control unit 402 displays a warningmessage (S80).

Third Embodiment

A method of reproducing data according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention is explained as follows.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a method of reproducing data according to astill further embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 14, if the recording medium 10 is loaded in the datarecord/reproduction apparatus 40 or if a user's command for instructinga playback is inputted, a pickup unit 401 reads at least one regionalcode included in an index table or object file and then transfers theread regional code to a control unit 402 (S91).

The control unit 402 compares the received regional code to regionalinformation stored in the memory 404 and then decides whether thereceived regional code and the stored regional information match (S92).

If the received regional code and the stored regional information match,the control unit 402 plays an associated title according to a user'scommand, navigation command or Java application (S96).

On the other hand, if the received regional code does not match thestored regional code, the control unit 402 decides whether fixed-dateinformation for limiting a time of a non-permitted region/countryreproduction exists in the index table or object file of the recordingmedium 10 (S93).

If the fixed-date information exists in the recording medium 10, thecontrol unit 402 receives RPC (remote procedure call) data includingdate (year/month/day) and time (hour/minute/second) from the server 50(S94) and then decides whether the fixed-date has expired/passed withreference to the date/time information included in the RPC data (S95).The control unit 402 can use a secured clock within the datarecord/reproduction apparatus 40 instead of using the RPC data. And, auser or application program is unable to change a date or time of thesecured clock.

If the fixed date has passed, the control unit 202 performs datareproduction even if the regional code included in the index table orthe object file does not match to the region/country of the datarecord/reproduction apparatus 40 (S96).

If the fixed date has not passed, the control unit 402 accesses theserver 50 and then receives a new object file including new fixed-dateinformation. The control unit 402 stores the received new object file inthe recording medium 10. Hence, the fixed-date information recorded inthe recording medium 10 is updated or replaced by new fixed-dateinformation.

Subsequently, the control unit 402 decides whether the fixed-dateinformation is updated based on the stored new object file (S98).

If the fixed-date information is updated, the control unit 402 comparesthe updated fixed-date information to the date/time information includedin the RPC data to decide whether the restriction is released (S93˜S95).If the reproduction restriction of the data is released, the controlunit 402 reproduces the corresponding data (S96). If the fixed-dateinformation is not updated, the control unit 402 displays a warningmessage (S99).

In a method according to another embodiment of the present invention, ifthe recording medium 10 is loaded in the data record/reproductionapparatus or a user's command for instructing a playback is inputted,the control unit 402 accesses the server 50 to send a signal requestinga reproduction permission of data recorded in the recording medium 10.The control unit 402 is able to reproduce the data recorded in therecording medium 10 according to a reproduction permission signal orreproduction denial signal fed back from the server 50. For this, anaddress of the server 50, a command for instructing an access to theserver 50 and the like are recorded in the recording medium 10.

In the above description, the data reproducing method is mainlyexplained. Yet, the technical idea of the present invention isapplicable to a data recording method as well. For instance, in case ofrecording data in the recording medium 10, the data record/reproductionapparatus 20 or 40 generates a regional code based on the regionalinformation stored in the memory 204 or 404 or the regional informationtransferred from the server 50 and then records the generated regionalcode in the index table or object file of the recording medium 10. Thedata record/reproduction apparatus 20 or 40 generates fixed-dateinformation based on a time/date limit transferred from the server 50and then records this fixed date in the recording medium 10.

Accordingly, the present invention provides at least one or more of thefollowing effects or advantages.

Since data reproduction is restricted in a disapproved geographicalregion but is allowed in an approved geographical region only using aregional code recorded in a recording medium and regional informationrecorded in a record/reproduction apparatus, it is able to prevent datafrom being distributed to a place not specified by a copyrightproprietor. Hence, a right of the copyright proprietor can be protected.

Second, a time can be set to prevent data from being reproduced during acopyright proprietor specific period in a disapproved geographicalregion using fixed-date information indicating a time limit on therestriction. A user is able to reproduce data with authentication ofauthorization through a server if necessary.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope ofinvention.

1. A recording medium having a data structure for managing reproductionof data from the recording medium, comprising: a management area storingmanagement information, the management information including navigationinformation for reproducing data from the recording medium, and thenavigation information including at least one command object, thecommand object instructing playback of associated data recorded on therecording medium, and the command object including region informationand time limit information, the region information indicating at leastone geographic region in which reproduction of the data associated withthe command object is permitted, and the time limit informationproviding a time limit on the geographic region restriction establishedby the region information.
 2. The recording medium of claim 1, whereinthe time limit information includes a date after which the geographicregion restriction established by the region information expires.
 3. Therecording medium of claim 1, wherein the command object includes aninstruction to playback user desired associated data recorded on therecording medium if the region information of the command object matchesregion information in a reproducing apparatus for reproducing therecording medium, and the command object includes an instruction toplayback the user desired associated data even if the region informationof the command object does not match the region information in thereproducing apparatus if a present time exceeds the time limit providedby the time limit information.
 4. The recording medium of claim 3,wherein the time limit information includes a date after which thegeographic region restriction established by the region informationexpires.
 5. The recording medium of claim 1, wherein the navigationinformation includes more than one command object, each command objectinstructs playback of associated data, each command object includes theregion information for the data associated with the playbackinstruction, and each command object includes the time informationassociated with the region information.
 6. A method of managingreproduction of data from a recording medium, comprising: reproducing,using a reproducing apparatus, navigation information from the recordingmedium, and the navigation information including at least one commandobject, the command object instructing playback of associated datarecorded on the recording medium, and the command object includingregion information and time limit information, the region informationindicating at least one geographic region in which reproduction of thedata associated with the command object is permitted, and the time limitinformation providing a time limit on the geographic region restrictionestablished by the region information; determining if the reproducedregion information matches region information stored in the reproducingapparatus; permitting reproduction of the associated data if thereproduced region information is determined to match the stored regioninformation; determining if the time limit on the geographic regionrestriction established by the region information has expired if thereproduced region information is determined not to match the storedregion information; and permitting reproduction of the associated dataif the geographic region restriction established by the regioninformation is determined to have expired.
 7. The method of claim 6,further comprising: detecting if the command object includes the timelimit information; prohibiting reproduction of the associated data ifthe reproduced region information is determined not to match the storedregion information and the time limit information is not detected; andconducting the determining if the time limit on the geographicrestriction established by the region information has expired if thetime limit information is detected.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereinthe time limit information includes a date after which the geographicregion restriction established by the region information expires.
 9. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the time limit information includes a dateafter which the geographic region restriction established by the regioninformation expires.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the determiningif the time limit on the geographic region restriction established bythe region information has expired step comprises: obtaining a presentdate; and determining expiration of the time limit if the present dateis after the date included in the time limit information.
 11. The methodof claim 10, wherein the obtaining step obtains the present dateinternally from the reproducing apparatus.
 12. The method of claim 11,further comprising: storing the present date in a status register of thereproducing apparatus; and wherein the obtaining step obtains thepresent date from the status register.
 13. The method of claim 11,further comprising: keeping time locally within the reproducingapparatus; and wherein the obtaining step obtains the present date fromthe kept local time.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the obtainingstep obtains the present date from a source external to the reproducingapparatus.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the external source is anetwork server.
 16. A method of managing reproduction of data from arecording medium, comprising: permitting a reproducing apparatus toreproduce data from the recording medium even if region information onthe recording medium does not match region information stored at thereproducing apparatus if a time limit recorded on the recording mediumand associated with the region information on the recording medium hasexpired.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the time limit is a daterecorded on the recording medium.
 18. The method of claim 17, whereinthe permitting step comprises: determining if a present date is past thedate recorded on the recording medium.
 19. A method of managingreproduction of data from a recording medium by a reproducing apparatus,comprising: detecting if timing information is recorded on the recordingmedium if region information on the recording medium does not matchregion information stored at the reproducing apparatus, the timinginformation providing a time limit on a geographic region restrictionestablished by the region information recorded on the recording medium;and prohibiting reproduction of data from the recording medium that isassociated with the region information on the recording medium if thedetecting step does not detect the timing information and the; anddetermining if the time limit on the geographic restriction establishedby the region information has expired based on the timing information ifdetecting step detects the timing information; and permittingreproduction of the associated data if the time limit on the geographicregion restriction established by the region information is determinedto have expired.